China touts plan to fight pollution, support solar

FRESH START:The Chinese State Council on Friday gave the green light to 10 new anti-pollution measures, like using legal action to force industries to control pollution

Reuters, SHANGHAI

China’s State Council approved new measures to combat air pollution on Friday, in the latest step by the new leadership to address the country’s enormous environmental problems, with pollution a key source of rising social discontent in China.

The government also promised to support China’s troubled solar power industry, despite problems with overcapacity and ongoing trade disputes with the US and Europe.

In a meeting chaired by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強), the State Council approved 10 anti-pollution measures, the council said in a statement posted on its Web site late on Friday.

In particular, the State Council promised to accelerate the installation of pollution-control equipment on small, coal-fueled refineries; curb the growth of high energy consuming industries like steel, cement, aluminum and glass; reduce emissions per unit of GDP in key industries by at least 30 percent by the end of 2017; improve indicators used to evaluate the environmental impact of new projects and deny administrative approvals, financing, land and other support to projects that fail to meet high standards; strengthen enforcement and collection of fees and penalties that companies pay based on their emissions; and use legal action to force industries to upgrade pollution controls and establish or revise industry-level emissions standards.

The government has made similar promises over the past decade, but enforcement has often been lacking, especially at the local level. Protests over pollution are becoming more frequent in China, as the country’s increasingly affluent urban population begins to object to the model of growth at all costs that has fueled the economy for three decades.

Friday’s State Council statement also acknowledged difficulties afflicting China’s solar industry, but pledged to maintain support for the industry through “reformed methods.”

Specific measures include price support for the sale of photovoltaic electricity to electricity grids and requiring grid operators to purchase all the electricity that solar generators produce.

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